It’s interesting the things we observe on a daily basis. Some are people watchers; others like to gaze at a roaring fire or beautiful sunset. The other day as I was pumping gas, I noticed a monitor above the tank showing either a cable station or video, couldn’t quite tell. It got me thinking, did this gas station make a decision to add the monitors based on customer feedback or did they pull the trigger on their own? Looking back I realize I didn’t pay attention to the monitor and wouldn’t come back just because they have them. It’s an added expense, what’s the ROI of adding the monitors?
Taking a look at how companies make decisions on the products and services they offer to their customer base fascinates me. From a branding, marketing, and expectations perspective, I enjoy helping clients go through the process of figuring out these important issues before divesting fistful of dollars at a solution. I recently tweeted the following question out to my network and to no surprise; the feedback was pretty unanimous, nobody would specifically seek out such a gas station and in many cases would look to avoid it:
While this is clearly a small sample size of data that doesn’t provide concrete results, I image the feedback would be similar no matter how many people responded from all walks of life. Taking this a step beyond the gas station scenario, how many companies are still adding new products and services to their offerings without doing proper research and analysis? The common response is research takes too much time, money, and is not a helpful predictor but in reality, isn’t this just an excuse not to do the right thing? Like the ROI of social media debate, finding an excuse not to get involved isn’t exactly how most successful companies run their business.
In most cases it makes sense to seek out suggestions, advice, and support. We’re living in an era where the consumer cherishes the opportunity to get involved with company decisions whenever possible. Yes, not every company decision can be made based on results from a LinkedIn or Facebook poll, but you get the drift. There are many brands doing an excellent job of getting their strongest advocates on board with supporting their initiatives, including: Moosejaw, Starbucks, and Dell to name a few. Company size has no bearing on success or failure when it comes to creating a successful social media strategy. Smaller companies with minimal budgets have also been effective getting their supporters involved in bringing out the ‘social’ part of the business but it takes creativity and time.
Think about the last major decision you made
Who helped you in your process? Did you consult with a respected family member, industry expert, or did you make the decision all on your own? Whether we’re making difficult business decisions or personal life choices don’t we rely on our inner circle of trust? The big shift in how consumers are making their purchasing decisions is never more evident that the new Diesel Cam(video above), where your Facebook friends help you pick which outfits look good on you, right from the dressing room. Are enough companies paying attention?
Photo credit: http://freenj.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post, Dave. Love that you did your homework to provide some concrete examples. There is definately a need to put some research and thought into the decisions companies make.
Personally, I kind of like the gas station screens, usually get the weather and some local news on them. I also suspect that in screen advertising pays much of the cost for the gas station. However, like everyone on your panel of responses, I would never seek out a gas station based on whether they had them or not.
Mike – You’re correct in that the gas station could profit from advertisement or some other deal. As long as it doesn’t turn away too customers (which I doubt it will) no harm no foul. It helped illustrate a larger point as you appropriately mentioned.
Great post! I’m one of those who leave the TV during a commercial break, but at these pumps you are a captive audience. Maybe that’s why they do it. I try to ignore the monitors at gas stations, but the few times I did pay attention I noticed they are often directing you inside the store to buy more stuff or it is some type of newscast or infomercial that I completely ignored.
As for my own buying decisions, I always research and ask trusted advisors before making business purchases. As far as implementing new strategies, I always poll my network, mastermind group, and/or target market for suggestions before implementing completely new strategies (or tweaking existing ones very much).
Thanks for sharing. Good, relatable topic.